Balalaika (DVD)

Nelson Eddy (Rose Marie) stars as a Czarist prince who falls in love with a cafe singer in the days just before the Russian Revolution in this gorgeous period musical. Prince Peter (Eddy) masquerades as a poor worker to woo Lydia Marakov (Massey) and secretly arranges for her to audition at the Imperial opera, and the two fall in love. Their romance is shattered, however, when Lydia discovers Peter's true identity when he leads his Cossacks into town to break up a demonstration that ends with tragic consequences. Featuring wonderful Russian music and songs and sterling performances by the cast, Balalaika is an enduring treasure.

Starring: Charlie Ruggles, Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Charles Ruggles, Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, C. Aubrey Smith, Joyce Compton, Dalies Frantz, Frederick Worlock, Abner Biberman, Arthur W. Cernitz, Roland Varno, George Tobias, Walter Woolf King, Phillip Terry, Paul Sutton, Willy Costello, Paul Irving, Mildred Shay, Alma Kruger, Zeffie Tilbury, Russian Cossack Choir, Sergei Protzenko

Director: Lawrence Weingarten

Rating: NR